The top 5 selling Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Games

The top 5 selling Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games throughout the third generation consoles era.

So, I've been scouting around to find out what were the top 5 selling Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games. The sales figures for the 5 games below are over a staggering 29,000,000 units, not bad going for a 16 bit console that lurked in the shadow on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Half of the 29 million copies sold were down to Sega’s ambition of making a new mascot that could rival Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. with a fairly high outcome. Sonic the Hedgehog became a household name along with Mario, even if you hadn’t played either game, or seen the TV series you knew who they were, and still do today, making them two of the best known video game franchises to date.

Sonic the Hedgehog helped the Genesis boost sales of the console and games that were released onto it while also releasing an 8 bit version on Sega’s second generation console the Sega Master System increasing sales of an older generation console that was still widely available.

So, as you can guess the Number 1 game in terms of sales (and gameplay) was Sonic the Hedgehog, so check out the list below to see what the actual figures are for the top 5 selling Genesis games along with a brief description.

5. Mortal Kombat II – 1.78 million copies (in US)

Mortal Kombat 2 is the second instalment of the classic arcade game Mortal Kombat. The game was released onto the Genesis/Mega Drive on the December 5th (September 9th in Japan) 1994, a year after the arcade version was released. The game was also released onto many other platforms at the time, right up to current generation consoles (Xbox 360).

Mortal Kombat 2 benefits from added characters along with the ability to act out multiple fatalities, rather than one per character on It’s predisessor. However the storyline remains the same, with the next Mortal Kombat tournament being set in Outworld, an otherdimensional realm. Fighters from both Outworld and Earthrealm (Earth to you and I) have been selected to fight one another on the perilous journey to Shao Kahn, emperor of Outworld.

Various other moves were added to MK2, allowing players to crouch and either perform a punch or kick agaisnt their oppenent. Matches were based upon the same theorm – the player to defeat their enemy first won the round, and the absolute winner would be the first to win two out of the possible three rounds.

4. NBA Jam – 1.93 million copies (in US)

NBA Jam is a 2 on 2 basketball game that first appeared onto arcade machines, then onto home consoles. Released in 1993, this fast paced game was one of the first sports games to feature a digital likeness of the players, as NBA licensed players and teams were used.

To try and make the game as exciting to players a possible, no true to life physics were used in the game. Players could jump many times their own height and unlike real basketball no fouls or violations could be issued apart from goaltending and 24 second violations. This meant that elbowing and shoulder-barging made this game truly fun.

Cheats were also available on the game. Characters could be enabled by pressing a certain combination upon their controller and in-game cheats could be activated. Pressing A 5 times and right 5 times on the Sega Genesis would activate the “Super Clean Floors” cheat in which players would fall if they ran too fast or tried to change direction too quickly.

3. Aladdin – over 4 million copies

Aladdin for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive is a game based on Disney’s classic film. Released on November 11th 1993 (November 12th in Japan) It was developed by Virgin Games USA and published by Sega in a video games industry first. Sega had managed to obtain a license for publishing a game based on a Disney motion picture and they also struck a deal with Disney’s animation studios.

The Aladdin video game uses animation designed around the motion picture to keep it as true to the film as possible. The player controls Aladdin who must travel through various levels based upon the same locations as featured in the film. Players can either use a scimitar for close range attacks and blocking incoming projectiles, or use apples as a range weapon.

As an added bonus if a player finds an Abu or Genie icon they will enter a bonus round. Gems can also be collected throughout the game and can be traded to traveling peddler in exchange for extra lives or continues.

2. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – over 6 million copies

On November 24th (November 21st in Japan) Sega released It’s second chapter in the Sonic series. Since then it has been re-released onto Virtual Console, Xbox Live and iOS.

Built upon the basis of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, slight changes were made to signify the difference between the two. The main change was the arrival of Sonic’s right hand man, a fox with two tails named Miles “Tails” Prowler, nicknamed Tails. Tails, as a character had already been introduced for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Sega Master System, but unlike the Master System version, was a playable character.
Unlike the Master System version that was released earlier, a new “ability” had been added and dubbed as the “Spin Dash” or “Super Dash Attack” which allowed Sonic to curl into a ball, spin on the spot and be released with superb speed.

A multiplayer mode had also been added, players raced through different stages as either Sonic or Tails while in a split screen mode.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog – over 15 million copies

Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive was the debut for Sega’s blue hedgehog. It was originally released on June 23rd (July 26th in Japan) 1991, with an 8 bit version for the Sega Master System coming out a few months later. Since then it has made It’s way onto various platforms including the Gameboy Advance and iOS.

The aim of this 2D side-scroller is to pass each act and zone, while finding Chaos Emeralds which are locked away in bonus rounds, while trying to defeat Dr. Robotnik to help free helpless animals that have been locked away in Robots.

With the game succeeding 15,000,000 sales, it is the best selling Sonic game of the Sonic game franchise to date, but it did eventually come in a bundled package with the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive which would have greatly boosted It’s sales.

So that concludes my list of The top 5 selling Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games, be sure to stay tuned too see how well the NES did.

Happy gaming!

Image sources: https://www.redantretro.com/products/sega-genesis-console-1, http://www.theisozone.com/covers